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California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil. It is located on the West Coast of the United States, and is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the northeast, Arizona to the southeast, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. California's geography ranges from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east, to Mojave desert areas in the southeast and the Redwood–Douglas fir forests of the northwest. Beginning in the late 18th century, the area known as Alta California was colonized by the Spanish Empire. In 1821, Mexico, including Alta California, became the First Mexican Empire, beginning as a monarchy, before shifting to a republic. In 1846 a group of American settlers in Sonoma declared the independence of a California Republic. As a result of the Mexican-American War, Mexico ceded California to the United States. It became the 31st state admitted to the union on September 9, 1850. In the 19th century, the California Gold Rush brought about dramatic social, economic, and demographic change in California, with a large influx of people and an economic boom that caused San Francisco to grow from a hamlet of tents to a world-renowned boomtown. Key developments in the early 20th century included the emergence of Los Angeles as center of the American entertainment industry, and the growth of a large, state-wide tourism sector. In addition to California's prosperous agricultural industry, other important contributors to the economy include aerospace, petroleum, and information technology. If California were a country, it would rank among the ten largest economies in the world, with a GDP similar to that of Italy. It would be the 35th most populous country. California in 1632 When Grantville arrived in 1631, the coast of California (both the modern US state of California and the Baja California peninsula), had been formally claimed by Spain, but there was no Spanish presence in California.As of yet, there is no indication that this has changed in the NTL. Beginning in 1634, Japanese Christians were settled in the Monterey Bay area of California.This is described in the "Rising Sun" section of 1636: Seas of Fortune.As of yet, there is no indication that Philip IV or any of his ministers have reacted to this, or are even aware of it; but it has not been relevant to the storylines in which they have appeared. Both the Japanese and the Dutch were aware of the OTL's California Gold Rush, but as of late 1636, no successful attempts to exploit California's gold fields had been made. A Japanese attempt in 1634 failed, partly because the Japanese miners were unfamiliar with panning for gold, but largely because the party was caught in rapid flooding on the Sacramento and American Rivers, caused by a "Pineapple Express" storm system, and died.1636: Seas of Fortune, "Wild Geese". One of the characters reflects that panning was known to the Japanese, but was not considered honest mining. The "Pineapple Express" is a bit of authorial license; it is not known if one did hit the Central Valley in December of 1634, but one could have. In 1636, the Dutch were given permission to start a settlement on the site of OTL San Francisco, and their colony ship accompanied that year's Japanese fleet. It is not clear if this was done by the new Dutch kingdom under King Fernando or by overseas Dutch who were either not reconciled to or not aware of the new kingdom.1636: Seas of Fortune, "The Night Heron's Scream" Category:US States Category:1632 series References Category:US States Category:1632 series